KR100919179B1 - Method and apparatus for integrating a wide keyboard in a small device - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for using a free keyboard comprising a wide range of keys in small mobile devices. The method relates to operating a mobile device having a touch display divided into input and output portions. The first position of the tactile input is detected 201 on the input portion of the touch display displaying the plurality of keys. Next, a zoom function for the input partial display view is performed (203) by displaying the detected tactile input area and its periphery and linearly enlarging it. The second position of the tactile input is detected 204 and the key with respect to the second position of the detected tactile input is highlighted 205. The highlighted 205 key is activated 206 and identified as input.

Description

Method and apparatus for integrating a wide keyboard in a small device

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for using a free keyboard comprising a wide range of keys in small mobile devices.

Mobile devices such as mobile phones, personal digital assistants and game consoles have been designed to be small in size and light in weight to be easy and convenient to preserve in any case. One limiting feature in minimizing mobile devices is the usability of the keypad. Due to the popularity of short message service (SMS) -messages, the ease and ease of use of the keypad has become even more important. In addition, there are many functions in wireless application protocol (wap) devices, for example, where it is inevitable to make a wide range of keys available.

There are commercially available devices that combine a regular mobile phone with per-sonal digital access (pda) features such as touch screens and larger keyboards. Also as important as screen size and graphical interface is the ability to operate textually, access menus, and send and receive messages, especially as an assessment of business users. Users manually enter a lot of modern mobile phones. It is quite difficult to make tradeoffs between keyboards and small devices that are large enough to be easy to use.

In the new wap-enabling, the keymats of smart devices are made larger to get better usability. For example, in the Communicator 9210 device manufactured by Nokia Corporation of Espoo, Finland, a modified keyboard containing slightly larger concave keys than previous models of the communicator series There is. "Communicator" is a registered trademark of Nokia Corporation. In so-called conventional mobile phones, there are several characters in one button to reduce the number of actual buttons. Personal digital assistants, for example, personal digital assistants manufactured by Palm, Inc., Santa Clara, Calif., Have employed separate tools for recording. One separate tool may be, for example, a touch screen panel that allows recording input on the effective area of the screen panel. It is also known to enter data by activating depicted push buttons or graphical images. Typically, this is done by positioning the cursor and activating the selected action with the help of a mouse, trackball, pen, reading pen, stylus, and the like. The use of such auxiliary means requires a stable environment and occasions.

European Patent Application Publication No. EP 651543 employs a personal communicator comprising a touch sen-sitive display. Such mobile personal communicators include casings of data processing systems, modems and cellular phones. On the touch display it is possible to select the next action by touching the depicted button on the display. In addition, by contacting the screen, it is possible to magnify graphical images, such as parts of a fax view, and to move the images about the display. In this European patent application publication, a touch screen display comprises a pressure overlay on a liquid crystal display (LCD).

US 4 899 292 discloses a computer connected to a terminal having a resistive touch screen. As in the former case, this publication also processes images or image format data on the display to be enlarged. Tactile input is performed with the aid of a reading pen on the touch screen. The screen detects a voltage signal, which is then converted into coordinates in a known manner.

US 6 073 036 exemplifies a mobile station having contact input means and an automatic symbol enlargement function. The mobile station has a touch input means such as a touch display or touch pad. Symbols or keys on a touch keypad can be implemented smaller in size because the touched key is enlarged so that it can be determined before selecting as input. This magnification is realized as if there is a convex lens in the middle of the screen and the user. Because of this, the illusion that the user sees is the non-linear magnification of the original symbol (s) in contact. Tactile input and subsequent detection of its position can be used for additional magnification or for selecting the symbol. In this solution, a collectively used keypad, which may include, for example, numbers, alphanumeric characters or special characters, is depicted at one time. The size of one symbol in the screen depends on the resolution of the screen. After the enlargement all symbols are still depicted. The indicated and selected one (s) is enlarged at the expense of shrinking everything else. Nonlinear and lens-like magnification of the selected symbol (s) results in a reduction of other non-selected symbols performed in proportion to the distance away from the selected (s).

1 is a block diagram illustrating an apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a flowchart illustrating a method according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

3A-3C illustrate a method according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

It is an object of the present invention to implement a complete, well designed, easily available keyboard integrated into a small mobile device such that the keys are discernable before selecting an input.

The objects of the invention are achieved by allowing a touch display to provide a user interface and to be used as input and output means. In addition, a zoom function for the keys is performed in response to the activation of the touch display to be complete and discernible.

The invention is characterized by what is stated in the accompanying independent claims. Preferred embodiments of the invention are provided in the dependent claims.

The present invention is based on the basic assumption that the touch screen is used for both input and output. Data is separately obtained by being viewed by the display and is also entered in a very close relationship with the objects seen through the touch screen or on the display. Reduction of the device is established by depicting the keys on the touch display. The interactive interactive display includes means for performing a zoom function on the display information such that the zoom function can determine individual keys. This even makes small devices usable and convenient. It is advantageous that a zoom function for an input means such as the keyboard can be performed on the display such that the selection area of the keyboard is enlarged over a predetermined range. Therefore, it is possible to use keys that are inherently small in usable size. This makes it possible to manufacture miniature simulated keyboards. At the same time, this makes it easy and convenient to use a known keyboard that is familiar to most users, such as a conventional typewriter or computer keyboard with keys arranged to be in a typical position.

Typically, there is a contact layer on a basic display such as an LCD. The touch display can be used for all manual input from the selection of function keys for recording sms-messages and performing navigation in the network. The touch display shows the actual display for the user to obtain the usual output and the keypad, keyboard or specific function keys for the user to obtain the input means. The input portion of the display may vary in size, shape and content according to different uses and different functional modes. For example, if a mobile device is used to make a call, the input mainly requires numeric keys and further needs a function key to establish a connection. If the user wants to send an sms-message, usually the necessary keys include letters known from typewriters or computer keyboards. Certain functions often used can be activated from dedicated keys. Rarely used specific mode functions are provided in the display and can be activated from adjacent keys.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In the following description of the present invention, the central portion is a touch display. Obviously, the touch display is not very important to the present invention using this type of touch panel. In addition, the means for contacting the panel to represent tactile input can be changed from finger to any auxiliary input means. Touch screens are sensitive to touch and allow a user to communicate with a mobile device by touching an item on the touch screen. The touch screen includes a touch screen panel, a controller and driver software. The touch screen panel is a transparent or translucent panel externally attached on the original display. The touch screen panel registers touch events and sends such signals to the controller. The controller then processes the signals and sends this data to the processor. Software drivers translate touch events into, for example, mouse or key press events.

There are three types of touch screen techniques: resistive, surface wave and capacitive. The resistive touch screen panel is covered with an electrically conductive resistive layer of thin film metal. The change in current in the resistive touch screen is registered as a touch event and the coordinates representing the case are sent to the controller for processing. Resistive touch screen panels are generally more suitable than other types of contact panels, but resistive touch screen panels provide only 75% clarity. In addition, the metal surface layer is fragile and can be damaged by sharp objects. Resistive touch screen panels are not affected by external factors such as dust or water.

The surface wave technique uses ultrasonic waves transmitted through the touch screen panel. When the panel is in contact, part of the ultrasonic waves is absorbed. This change in ultrasound registers the location of the touch event and sends this information to the controller for processing. Surface wave touch screen panels are the most advanced of the three types, but surface wave touch screen panels can be damaged by external elements. In the case of this type of touch screen panel, it is important to vary the background noise and the actual contacts.

Capacitive touch screen panels are coated with a material that stores charges. When the panel is in contact, a small amount of charge is generated at the contact point. Circuits located at each corner of the panel measure the charge and send this information to the controller for processing. Capacitive touch screen panels must be touched by fingers, unlike resistive and surface wave panels, which may also use other auxiliary means. Capacitive touch screens are not affected by external factors and have high transparency.

The present invention is well used for all kinds of known touch screen types. It should be noted that the independence of the touch screen type means that the present invention certainly uses future touch screen types which are not yet known even in the priority date herein. In particular, where a particular touch screen type inherently includes a feature that generates an indicator of relative strength, i.e., a pressing contact force, such an indicator is best used for discrimination between contact types, which will be described in more detail below. May be advantageous.

1 is a block diagram of an apparatus used in a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The block diagram only shows display and input related functional blocks, which are important for implementing the present invention. Obviously, the mobile device may include more functional blocks such as transceiver and receiver branches and memory units.

In FIG. 1 there is a typical display 105 which is a liquid crystal display (LCD). Above the display 105 is a touch screen panel 100, which implements a physical interface for contact commands. It is typical for backlight to be present on the display and on the contact overlay. This combination acts as both an input and an output device. There may also be several dedicated or soft keys 103 selected as input means, but this is not so important for the present invention.

The contact detector 101 identifies actual contacts from other disturbance factors. How the actual contacts are discerned from the defect detections depends on the type of touch screen. If the touch screen panel is a resistive touch screen panel, the panel is not affected by external elements such as dust and water, and the activation of the input point with respect to the panel can be performed by a finger or a specific aid. Can be. Ultrasonic touch screen panels can be damaged by external elements and are also sensitive to background noise, for example. Touch screen panels using capacitive techniques are not affected by external factors. Such capacitive screens must be touched with a finger.

Processor 107 receives instructions from discriminator 102 (and keypress detector 104, if there are dedicated or soft keys present). The discriminator 102 determines different contact commands in a predetermined manner. This identifies, for example, that a short time contact replaces a 'select' command and a long time stable contact replaces a 'zoom', a 'pan' which is a mobile contact means, and the like. Different input methods are identified and used to distinguish these functions. Advantageously, the input is performed in a way that the user is already familiar with from the previous use of the keyboard. The determination of the different inputs can be implemented, for example, by integrating the discriminator 102 into the processor 107 which calculates the time periods of the contacts or compares the positions of the two detected sequential contacts.

The key press detector 104 detects key presses of the dedicated or soft keys 103 and sends the detected information to the processor 107. Processor 107 initiates and performs various functions as commanded. The processor 107 includes necessary timers and other performing units. The processor 107 provides display related instructions to the display driver 106, which then converts display instructions from the processor 107 into drive signals for the display element 105. Display 105 implements the final transformation from electrical form to image form.

2 shows a method according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the zoom function is performed once and always before the input is selected. This is implemented, for example, by a predetermined time limit between steps and a zoom function for a certain tactile input is performed first and then activating the detected key. It is also common to select the input by releasing the contact. The inspection function of the time periods is not shown in FIG.

First, the display unit or the screen is divided into two parts in block 200 according to some specific use. The divided input and output areas can be adjusted according to the intended use. Since this can be a user adjustable feature, the display size is constant and the size of the two screens can be changed in relation to each other in accordance with user commands. This kind of function is known in the field of computer displays. According to the invention, since the area can also be adjusted for a particular use, the keypad part or so-called input part of the display leaves the maximum area of the display relative to the output part by allocating the display area as small as possible. This is advantageous if the user wants to use the display primarily to execute data, for example when reading short message service (sms) messages or browsing data retrieved from the Internet. On the other hand, the user can maximize the keypad or input area by minimizing the totally unvisualized output area only when effective use of the input area is required. In certain uses, primarily for adjusting the area required for the input part, the number of symbols or keys depends on the particular keypad, which may be, for example, numeric, alphanumeric, and only includes letters, function keys or all of the foregoing. You may. The number of actual keys that can be displayed at one time also depends on the resolution of the display. Individual symbols need to be visually discernible before the user can select an input.

In block 201 it is then checked whether the input area of the display is in contact. The touch panel may inform the processor of the input and the processor may detect the inputs periodically, for example. How the detection of the contacts is performed in detail also depends on the type of touch screen. Firstly, the touch screen panel may be resistive, for which the touch screen panel is covered with an electrically conductive resistive layer of thin film metal. In a resistive touch screen, the contact is sensed as a charge of current. Secondly, the touch screen panel may be implemented with ultrasound waves transmitted through the touch screen panel. When the panel is in contact, part of the ultrasonic waves is absorbed. For this reason, the change of the ultrasonic waves registers the position of the touch event. The third predictable touch screen panel type is capacitive, which is covered with a material that stores charges. In this solution, circuits are located at each corner of the panel. When contacted, a small amount of charge is generated at the contact point. The type of touch screen panel also affects the means used to activate the symbols on the display. Typically, it is advantageous to use a finger because it is convenient to use. In addition, the moving device may include certain pointing means such as a pen for fine adjustment.

If no contact or input event is detected at block 201, such detection is rescanned or waited. Block 201 also includes the determination of the different functions. In this embodiment, the determining operation depends on the current device mode. If a contact is detected at block 201, the current display mode is checked. If a zoom function for the display view is not performed at block 202, the zoom function is performed according to block 203. The zoom function is implemented by enlarging the active contacts of the displayed keyboard and making the rest of the keyboard invisible at all. The magnified area is the area touched by the user and the specific area surrounding it. In this enlarged area, keys and symbols are discernible and the user can easily determine and select one key or symbol. If the zoom function for the display view has already been performed at block 202, the operation continues in accordance with block 204.

In this embodiment, the activated symbol is highlighted at block 205 in accordance with the second detected contact at block 204. The highlighted contact point can be changed by sliding the contact means on the display. After the zoom function is performed, the input symbol can be selected, for example, by releasing the contact point. When the contact point is released, the function is performed when the highlighted symbol is displayed or when the highlighted key is a function key. Thereafter, the display view may be in zoom mode or may revert back to all small viewing modes. As a result, operation continues from step 204 or from step 201.

The above-mentioned description is merely one embodiment of the present invention, and various modifications may be implemented within the scope of the present invention. According to one embodiment of the present invention, after a contact is detected in step 201, a discriminator 102 (see FIG. 1), for example, adjusts the size of the input or output portion of the touch display. Determine the zoom event from the resizing of these. Typically window resizing and panning events are indicated by sliding the tactile input means on the display. The zoom function can then be identified from a stable non-mobile contact or from a full mobile contact. Basically, this can be implemented by detecting the positions if there is a difference between the two sequential positions of contact and examination. According to the above-mentioned embodiment according to FIG. 2, the zoom function is always performed before the selection of the input. In this embodiment, if the mode of the display is checked and the zoom function is not performed, it is implemented in step 203 after the zoom function is performed and the detected contact represents the selected input. Note that the zoom function is performed more than once. If the first view is, for example, an overall typewriter keyboard for editing an sms message, it may be advantageous for the zoom function to be performed twice or three times to see visually discernible and recognizable keys. On the other hand, the input of numbers from the numeric keypad can be performed more quickly if the zoom function is performed only once. According to one preferred embodiment, the user has the opportunity to select the input key or symbol without any zoom or magnification. The user may use certain assistive means such as a pen or stylus to indicate a small key. The magnification function may be implemented in sequential steps or may be performed steplessly until a continuous contact is maintained. The stepless magnification function is actually very small magnification steps and can be implemented by sequentially generating and providing them fast enough for the user to display a continuous display.

Also, one feature that affects is enlarged dimensions. The dimension or magnification ratio may be a keypad specific feature which is typically predetermined in advance and defined according to the use or mode, or the dimension may be determined by the user. The display with the number and detail of small keys must be enlarged so great that it is convenient to use. In addition, it should be noted here that if the magnification function varies or the original keypad has smaller or larger keys, the various magnification functions only allow one or several keys to be visualized on the screen. This is usually not convenient for the user, since the correction must be made easier and faster if the enlarged area can be wrongly selected and subsequently adjacent keys can also be visualized.

Typically, the present invention is implemented such that the original keyboard can be visualized in an enlarged mode only by sliding a finger or other contact means to the side edges of the visible keyboard portion. Contact to the side of the visible keypad causes the view to scroll. This is most advantageous for users who are familiar with the original keyboard, and because of this, the users know which keys appear next to the visible keys. Users who are unfamiliar with the keypads being used may scroll based on one keypad to find the symbol they are looking for, alternatively returning to the non-zoom mode and initiating the zoom function for the selected area again. You may.

The touched symbol or key is highlighted at block 205 as a visual signal of the selected key for the user. In block 206, the actual selection of keys, such as letters or numbers, or the activation of a function or soft key can be displayed in several ways. The typical approach is to release the contact when the desired key is highlighted. Another foreseeable way to select and activate the desired key is to have the contact fixed at a position relative to the selected key for a predetermined time, for example a few seconds. In addition, according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the key is activated when the sensed pressure on the screen exceeds a certain threshold. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that there are many ways to implement the invention.

3A to 3C show one method according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The mobile device is in an sms-message recording mode and it is advantageous for the input 302abc and output 301 portions to be adjusted by this mode. The display 300 of FIG. 3A may be a typical telephone device or may be, for example, a compact device mountable to a wrist. In display 300, there is an output portion 301, which has a cursor 304 that shows the current position for the input. Below the output portion 301 is an input or keyboard portion 302a. This input portion 302a is a simulated keyboard that is visualized on the display 300.

The buttons or keys 303 are soft or dedicated keys. Typically, private keys are used to implement some of the frequently used functions, such as call or delete. There may also be soft keys for different changing functions. Since the functions change depending on the view or mode of the display, a transform button corresponding to a particular button is displayed adjacent to it on the display view. This allows the use of change mode specific variant buttons to be easy and quick.

The current user wants to generate an sms-message. In particular, the user wants to enter the letter (D). The visualized keyboards are arranged in the same order as the original typewriter keyboard. Since many users are familiar with such typical keyboards from computers and laptops, the typical user knows to some extent exactly where the desired letter D is located on the keyboard. The user roughly indicates the area where the desired letters are located. The contact point of the user in FIG. 3A is located on the letter D. FIG.

In FIG. 3B, the zooming function for the detected touch point of the keyboard is performed as shown in the keyboard portion 302b. Such a selection may be advantageously performed only by placing a finger or a specific pointing means on the touch screen. The user can set the speed of the zoom function, which is advantageously adjusted from several milliseconds to several seconds. While the zoom function for the keyboard is being performed, the user can define his or her search by moving the pointer on the touch screen panel. The selected key is highlighted, for example, to give the user visual feedback of the current active selection. When a particular key is selected, the particular key may be selected to be input by releasing contact from the touch screen. If not, the pointer is repositioned on the area where the zoom function is to be performed, in this embodiment the area that surrounds the letter D.

3C is a diagram illustrating the touch screen 302c after the keyboard is enlarged for one second or after the zoom function for the keyboard is performed. At present the keys are advantageously at least 7 x 7 millimeters corresponding to the average size of the fingertip. There are also edges 305 that surround the keyboard. Since only a few keys are shown, the user can scroll the keyboard by moving the pointer to the selected side on the edge. The current letter D is selected by placing the pointer on the letter D when the letter D is highlighted. The letter D is then input to the display portion 301 mentioned above. After input, the enlarged and zoomed keyboard 302c may be used in the enlarged mode and may return to the original mode to allow the overall keyboard to be viewed as illustrated in FIG. 3A.

Claims (28)

A method of operating a mobile device having a touch display, The touch display is divided 200 into adjustable input and output portions, and a method of operation of a mobile device having the touch display includes: Displaying a plurality of keys in an input portion of the touch display; Detecting (201) a first position of tactile input on an input portion of a touch display displaying a plurality of keys; Performing a zoom function (203) on an input partial display view by displaying a specific area within which the tactile input is detected and linearly enlarging it; Detecting (204) a second position of the tactile input after enlarging the specific area; Highlighting (205) a key on a second location of the detected 204 tactile input; And Activating (206) the selected and highlighted (205) key and identifying the key as an input method of operation of a mobile device having a touch display. The method of claim 1, wherein the divided input and output portions of the touch display are adapted for a particular use. The method of claim 1, wherein the divided input and output portions of the touch display can be adjusted by a user. The method of claim 1, wherein detecting the first position of the input (201) comprises determining whether the type of intended input controlled the mode or function of the device or selected a key displayed within an input portion of the display. And (202) operating a mobile device having a touch display. The method of claim 1, wherein performing (203) the zoom function enlarges the contacted input area and its surroundings on the display at a predetermined ratio. . 6. A method according to claim 5, wherein the magnification ratio is defined according to the application. The method of claim 5, wherein the magnification is determined by a user. The method of claim 1, wherein in performing the zooming operation (203), the touch display is characterized in that the area of tactile input and its periphery are enlarged and the remaining input views are hidden (302a, 302b, 302c). Method of operation of a mobile device. The method of claim 1, wherein performing the zoom function is performed multiple times in response to continuous tactile input in the input portion of the display. 10. The method of claim 9, wherein in the performing the zooming function, the zooming function is performed in sequential steps. 10. The method of claim 9, wherein in the step of performing the zoom function, the magnification function is performed steplessly in response to a continuous tactile input. The method of claim 1, wherein the activation step is performed in response to a tactile input being released. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the activation step and the first position detection 201 and the second position detection 204 steps are performed as a response to a fixed tactile input for a predetermined time period. A method of operation of a mobile device having a touch display, characterized by the above. The method of claim 1, wherein after the activation step is performed, the display view is displayed in the zoom mode or returns to the original mode depending on the specific use determination. . The method of claim 1, wherein after the activation step is performed, the display view is displayed in a zoom mode or returns to an original mode depending on a specific user discrimination. In a mobile device having a touch display, The touch display is divided 200 into adjustable input and output portions, and the mobile device having the touch display includes: Means for detecting (201) tactile input on input portions (302a, 302b, 302c) of a touch display displaying a plurality of keys; Means (107, 106, 105) for performing a zoom function on the input partial display view to display and linearly magnify the detected tactile input area and its periphery; Means for emphasizing (205) a key on a second location of detected (204) tactile input; And And a means for activating (206) the highlighted key and identifying the selected key as input. 17. The mobile device of claim 16, wherein the mobile device having a touch display includes means for adjusting the input and output portions for a particular use. The mobile device of claim 16, wherein the input and output portions are adjustable by a user. 17. The mobile device of claim 16, wherein the mobile device having a touch display comprises a processor (107) coupled to the touch display (100) for detecting tactile input. 17. The mobile device of claim 16, wherein the mobile device having a touch display further comprises means (102) for determining the type of tactile input. 21. The mobile device of claim 20, wherein the mobile device having a touch display comprises a processor 107 that compares differences in times and positions of detected 201, tactile inputs to determine a type of tactile input. A mobile device having a touch display, characterized in. 17. The mobile device of claim 16, wherein the mobile device having a touch display includes means (107, 106, 105) for linearly enlarging the determined area and hiding the remaining input portion of the display view. Device. 23. The mobile device of claim 22, wherein the mobile device having a touch display includes means for defining a magnification ratio according to the application. 23. The mobile device of claim 22, wherein the mobile device having a touch display includes means for a user to determine the magnification ratio. 23. The mobile device of claim 22, wherein the mobile device having a touch display includes means for enlarging an area determined in sequential steps. 23. A mobile device with a touch display as claimed in claim 22, wherein the mobile device with touch display comprises means for steplessly enlarging an area determined in response to a constant tactile input. 17. The mobile device of claim 16, wherein the mobile device having a touch display includes means for displaying a symbol or performing a function in response to activating tactile input. 17. The mobile device of claim 16, wherein the mobile device having a touch display comprises means for scrolling the visible input portion 305 of the display to change the visible region 302c of the input portion of the touch display. Mobile device with touch display.